Vacuum cleaning cabinet for dust mops



23, 1950 A. D. FAIRGRIEVE 2,499,133

VACUUM CLEANING CABINET FOR DUST MOPS Filed Jan. 3, i946 INVENTOR ALBIRT D'AlVS HIRE/21M AT TORNE) Patented Feb. 28, 1950 VACUUM CLEANING CABINET FOR DUST MOPS Albert Deans Fairgrieve, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Application January 3, 1946, Serial No. 638,760

2 Claims.

heres to it may be drawn out of it and deposited in a bag for subsequent removal; to provide that said mop may be properly agitated and that a current of air may pass through the mop from above and towards the free end of its strings. A further object is to provide for the air flow through and about the mop to be generally downwards, and a still further object is to provide a dust bag which is of ample size and capable of easy removal and cleaning.

The invention contemplates a cabinet having a bellows adapted to receive a mop head, whereby a current of air is developed within the cabinet and the mop is reciprocated in said air current, as will be more fully described in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal view.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of Fig. 1.

Fig, 4 is a detail view showing one of the bellows springs.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

The numeral I indicates generally a cabinet having side walls 2, rear and front walls 3 and 4 respectively, a bottom wall 5 and a hinge-dly mounted door 6. Intermediate the height of the cabinet and extending around three of its sides is a rail 8 and at its upper edge a rail 9 is provided. Upon the rail 9 a bellows I0 is mounted having at its upper edge a frame H to which a cover 13 is hingedly connected. At a midposition along the front of the frame ll an opening [4 is formed to receive the handle 15 of a mop l6, shown in dotted lines.

Supported from the rail 9 is a, dust chute or cone is which narrows down towards its lower end to direct the dust from the mop I6 through a frame into a fabric bag or receptacle 2! which is secured along its upper marginal edges to the frame 20 and is slidably carried upon the rail 6. The frame 20 is fitted on its underside with sponge rubber or other highly resilient packing 22 and is fitted with a vertical packing strip 23 on its forward edge as shown in Figure 2, to

engage the door 5 when in closed position and prevent any dust from escaping between said frame and the door. The frame H supporting the cover I3 is in turn supported on opposed vertical rods 25 which extend downwardly through collars 26 secured to the side walls of the cabinet I. The rods are each fitted with a spring 28 which abuts a stop 29 on the rod and bears upon the collar 26 in which it moves, so that the bellows l0 may be held in resiliently extended position until manually depressed. The collars 26 are relatively large to allow the rods 25 to run very freely within them and the upper ends of said rods are preferably pivotally connected to the frame I l as at 30.

The hinged cover i3 is fitted with a handle 3| by which said cover may be vertically reciprocated within the range of the bellows. The cover I3 is provided with a relatively large circular opening 3| having a bridge member 32 to which a spring loaded flap valve 33 is carried to cover the opening 3| and form an automatic inlet valve 34 for the upper portion of the cabinet. A bottom wall 35 is fitted at the base of the cone l8 and a spring loaded valve 36 is mounted in said wall in a similar manner to the mounting of the inlet valve 34 in the cover I I. The valve 36 serves as an outlet valve to pass dust from the mop held within the bellows down into the bag 2| and to prevent a return flow of the dust laden air. A bumper 38 consisting of a rubber coated horizontal bar 39 is supported above the rail 9 as shown in Figures 1 and 2, which is adapted to be engaged by the mop as it reaches the lower limit of its travel.

In operation, the cover I3 is raised, a mop I6 is placed therein and the cover closed down upon the mop handle l5 as shown in Figure 1. With one hand holding the handle 3| and the other hand holding the mop handle I5, the cover l3 and the bellows l0 and the mop it are reciprocated. If the operating stroke is long enough the mop handle will strike the bumper 38 to jar any adherent dust from the fabric of the mop. On the down stroke of the cover and associated parts,

the inlet valve 3 remains closed, and the outlet valve 36 is opened, thus the air being driven in a downward stream by the collapsing of the bellows will carry the dust into the bag 2| and the air will pass through the fabric of said bag and pass out through the screen panel 4|] provided in the lower part of the door 6. As the downward thrust on the cover 13 is relieved, the

springs 28 will urge the bellows to distend to normal position as shown and as the cover returns on its upward stroke the inlet valve 34 opens to admit air to the cabinet. The air flow being in a downward direction at all times ensures rapid removal of dust from the mop and its precipitation into the bag 2!. At suitable intervals, the bag and its frame 20 are withdrawn from the rail 8 and. the bag emptied of its dust content.

What I claim as myinvention is:

1. A device for cleaning dry mops and the like comprising a cabinet having side walls, a bellows,

a top wall connected to said side walls by saidbellows, an air pervious dust receiver in the base of the cabinet and in communication with said bellows, a self-closing inlet valve in the top wall to admit air to the bellows and a self-closing outlet valve below the bellows and above the dust receiver to direct the air received from the bellows through the dust receiver, means for supporting a mop head within the bellows below the inlet valve, and means for distending the bellows, said cabinet having a wall'opening to permit air passing through the dust receiver to pass outwards from the cabinet.

2. A device for cleaning mops and the like comprising side Walls, a bellows carried by said side walls, said bellows having a top cover and a base opening, an air pervious dust receiver fitted into REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 946,801 Hutchinson Jan. 18, 1910 1,161,087 Tyler 1 Nov. 23, 1915 1,212,815 Roth Jan. 16, 1917 1,799,833 Swanson Apr. 7, 1931 1,934,144 Reiser Nov. 7, 1933 1,995,443 Baker Mar. 26, 1935 2,031,374 Liedtke Feb. 18, 1936 2,033,672 Baker Mar. 10, 1936 2,052,766 Haynes Sept. 1, 1936 

